Just Showing Up   

High school days went from Bic pens, tote bags, cutest-shoe contests, and elaborate salads to tousled, sleepy Zoom appearances. But few are resilient like teenagers, and as a teacher, I’ve been continuously and pleasantly surprised by my class of 15-year-olds.

But the hero of my Zoom classroom is hands down Yael.

I met with my students for exactly one week before we were reduced to small squares on a screen. And in that week, I picked up on several things about Yael. One, that she’s a foreigner. Two, that she’s excruciatingly shy. And three, that given the chance, there’s a real possibility I could form a relationship with her.

Zoom isn’t exactly conducive to building a brand-new relationship; things could get awkward even for the most suave of teenage girls.